The Persistence of Empire

by Gould, Eliga H.

• ISBN13: 9780807848463
• ISBN10: 0807848468
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-03-01
• Publisher: Omohundro Inst of Early Amer

Summary

The American Revolution was the longest colonial war in modern British history & Britain's most humiliating defeat as an imperial power. In this lively, concise book, Eliga Gould examines an important yet surprisingly understudied aspect of the conflict: the British public's predominantly loyal response to its government's actions in North America.

Author Biography

Eliga H. Gould is associate professor of history at the University of New Hampshire.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
List of Maps and Illustrations	p. xiii
Introduction	p. xv
An Empire of Liberty: Whig Identity in the Reign of George II	p. I
Maintaining the Balance of Power	p. 3
A Matchless Constitution	p. 14
The Liberties of Britain and Europe	p. 30
The Blue Water Vision: British Imperialism and the Seven Years' War	p. 35
"The Sepulchre of British Interest"	p. 38
Oceans, Indians, and Colonists	p. 53
The Legacy of William Pitt	p. 69
Patriotism Established: The Creation of a "National Militia" in England	p. 72
The Power of Popularity	p. 75
The Militia Riots of 1757	p. 83
The Price of Victory	p. 98
The Nation Abroad: The Atlantic Debate over Colonial Taxation	p. 106
The Origins of the Stamp Act (1765)	p. 110
An American Theory of Empire	p. 123
The Plunge of Lemmings	p. 136
The Revolution in British Patriotism: The Friends of Government and the Friends of America	p. 148
Ambivalent Patriots	p. 150
The County Associations (1780)	p. 164
A People above Reproach	p. 179
The Experience of Defeat: The British Legacy of the American Revolution	p. 181
The Limits of Greater Britain	p. 183
"The Isle of Liberty and Peace"	p. 198
A Multiracial Empire	p. 208
Bibliography	p. 215
Index	p. 253
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